CBA explosion suspect was awaiting a protection visa

THE suspect in an explosion at a Commonwealth Bank branch at Springvale, in Melbourne's south-east, is a member of the Burmese community who arrived by boat in Australia in 2013 and was seeking a temporary protection visa.

Twenty-seven people, including several children, were injured after a man walked into the bank in Springvale Road on Friday and started a fire.

Pamela Curr, formerly with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said contacts had told her the man went into detention after arriving by boat and was then released into the community on a bridging visa.

The man had been waiting for a letter from the Immigration Department offering him a temporary protection visa (TPV), as a member of a cohort of refugees who were fast-tracked following legislation passed in 2014, Ms Curr said.

The ABC has been told those in the fast-track system were expected to receive a letter by the end of the year, or could otherwise be sent home.